Strong project management is increasingly recognised as essential to achieve impactful outcomes in externally-funded research projects hosted in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). However, the characteristics of research project management, and how it differs from project management in other environments, have not been sufficiently explored. Key…

This paper results from on-going reflection within the practitioners group "Plataforma de Interface à Ciência" (Platform of Professionals at the Interface of Science), an informal nationwide network in Portugal that brings together professionals involved in a large scope of activities related to research management, knowledge transfer…

To protect human subjects to the fullest extent possible, stakeholders must make time to reflect as well as engage in continuous-improvement efforts regularly using a rigorous framework. At one completely online university that primarily grants graduate degrees, stakeholders informally expressed complaints relating to various policies and…

The increasing professionalisation, mixed profiles, and institutional formal recognition of research managers and administrators (RMAs), namely at higher education institutions, has led to an increasing but modest volume of academic studies focused on their professional identity, roles, functions and impact. Based on an extensive literature…

In this article, the author reflects on research management and administration (RMA) as a profession. RMA arose from the need to manage growth in the number and complexity of research awards over the last fifty years, and is an activity and profession that continues to mature. It has grown in parallel with the increasing complexity of research…

This article explores some aspects of and challenges faced by those academics and administrators who undertake the leadership and management of research activity in contemporary UK universities. This analysis is set in the context of almost three decades of reforms to the UK's higher education systems in general and to research funding and audit…

This paper explores some of the implications for research management in universities of the explicit identification of areas of research focus. In particular, it examines how research facilitation can work with research focus to enable universities to organise and project their research capabilities more effectively. This combination of research…

The authors recognise that there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to implementing business intelligence strategy within universities. Elements of best practice have been taken from a case study of Imperial College, which may be applied across other institutions. The process starts with implementing and developing systems that capture…

Universities are increasingly accountable for their research output, not only to government but also to an increasingly diverse range of funding bodies. However, the growth in research management structures has been neither universal nor evenly distributed. It would be easy to cite lack of resources as the reason for the uneven development between…

It is not uncommon to find that the research support office in a university or organisation has been, is going through or is about to be restructured. This observation may reflect the ever-changing requirement and roles of those based within these functions, yet it might also be a symptom that traditional models are sub-optimal and below standards…

Implementation of IT "solutions" in the context of changes to business processes and efficiency is a common trigger for using formalised project management techniques. The trigger may include topical activities such as job evaluation schemes or quality assurance accreditation. This has led to a blurring of the boundary between projects and…